The straight jacket of freedom

I am on leave (a part of my Sabbatical) at the moment and I am enjoying the thrill of not having to go anywhere at any specific time, however this generally only lasts for a short period until I can find another routine to slip into. I find the in between times of ‘arbness’ rather stressful.

I am still going through “The Reason for God” by Timothy Keller and I am trying to summarize ideas, concepts and truths about the Christian faith that will help me answer questions for myself and help me deal with questions that come from others.

I am also reading another brilliant book about poetry as a means of spiritual practice but more about that one later on.

Immanuel Kant defined an enlightened person as one who trusts in his or her own power of thinking rather than in authority or tradition (Keller, R.F.G. pg46). This is common thinking is it not, in the age of relativism, Aquarius and all those kind of things.
The underlying concept is that we cannot be free if we are ‘straight jacketed’ to anything that restricts our freedom. If one looks at the smooth stroke of the professional golfer, the easy footwork of the soccer player, the first thought is: “ how easy and free that looks.” Let us not be mistaken as what we see is really the outcome of hours, days and years of restrictive discipline and practice that forfeited much else to get that ‘easy’ look. The truth of the matter is freedom comes with a price.

The arbitrary comment often heard today is, “ We can decide our own morality. We the individual decide what is right and wrong.” The counter argument to this is surely found when we criticize leaders who are leading their countries to ruin through their personal sense of morality. We would argue that despite their personal convictions they should act otherwise for the sake of others. In other words there is a morality that is beyond the individual and belongs to all humanity.

(Thoughts inspired by Timothy Keller, The Reason For God)

Something for the Methodist control freak!

‘Life is not something to be solved, but a mystery to be lived’

This little truth helps the control freak within us to abdicate so that we can appreciate all of life and all its vicissitudes. We look weak when we are not in control. We are afraid of our reputations as leaders when we are not telling people what and how to do things. Fresh in a church I was in one of its first meetings and one elderly church stalwart said, “just tell us what to do and we will do it!” He had no idea of the group process of collective ingenuity or group spirit. The boss had to give the orders. Subsequently I felt like I was a bad leader. Who was this guy who would not give orders? Tight organization is a pet hate of mine. I am at my worst in meetings where the tables are placed in lines one after the other and a head table is up in the front. I know I am going to have a bad time when members of the meeting insist on changing every spelling error in the last minutes. I wonder if we Methodists need to live the mystery a little more (generalization sorry!) and put to death the organizational megalith that dictates our outcomes?

Unholy perfection

“But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” At the heart of the story (Luke 7, 36-50) that highlights this maxim, the God man is showing up the one who knows they have erred and appreciates the forgiveness compared to the one who knows little of their wrong doing and only their goodness. This creates a tension in the spiritual growth of the Christian. Yes, we are forgiven, we appreciate the forgiveness and then we sin no more as expected and we rejoice in our freedom. The issue is resolved so we think, but how do we continue to love much when the sense of forgiveness has past, the tears have dried up. Does it mean we must continue to remind ourselves of the sinfulness of the past so we can remind ourselves of the forgiveness that brings us to love again? Ought sin be the precondition of our worship and admiration of God? I suppose the essence of Christ’s teaching is that we never reach a place that we say we have made it. The sanctifying road is one of continually recognizing the depravity of our heart, finding freedom, loving much, recognizing it again in other areas of our life, finding freedom, loving much until we reach perfection. But, be warned, if we think we are perfect we cannot love much!

Sic transit gloria mundi

I am not a man of ancient languages nor for that matter modern ones. I am still trying to get English under my belt let alone Latin. I picked up this Latin phrase in a commentary on the story of Naboth’s vineyard, which should rather be titled with this caption which means, ‘Thus passes the glory of the world,’ or in more common understanding, ‘Fame is fleeting.’ King Ahab grabs hold of the deceased Naboth’s vineyard but the moment of glory soon turns to his own demise for allowing such an atrocity to happen. God is seen in and behind the words of this story, not influencing the free will of the characters but certainly passing judgment on their choices. Ahab’s blood is soon to be licked up by the dogs in the same place that Naboth was slaughtered. He got what he wanted but the joy of possession did not last long. It is an old tale retold in many a tradition, a tale that warns against greed and getting things without considering the ethics of the means. It cautions us in how we use our free-will and the limited power we have. Each of us have a ‘power zone’ if you want to call it that. We can have sway and influence within a certain radius around us. For some it is vast like King Ahab and Jezebel. They can call a fast and stir a nation into action. For others their only sphere of power and influence is the home, brothers and sisters, or ones children. This story plays itself out in the micro narratives of our lives. The tragic stories of fathers who abuse their children, mothers who neglect their children for the sake of their own interests, children who manipulate their parents with vain threats just so they can get what they want. Why this story of Naboth is so intriguing is just because we can identify its tale in our own sorry backyards.

"Father, forgive them for they know not what they do" (Painting - Asian woman's resource center. Isn't it great!)

Simple pleasures

Evil is around me and within me. The casual denial of human evil and the evil that compounds when humans agree to evil is a terrible mistake. The exposure and light that Christ brings sets these things back to where they came from. Help me realize that these dark forces are perpetually at my door, waiting their return. Let me walk this life of mine with the freedom that Christ brings but always aware that the trap of evil is ever near. Christ wills and has brought me to freedom. The light of Christ is my stronghold. The simplest of things in life I treasure, the beauty of life that is so often numbed by selfishness. The smallest and innocent of pleasures made waste by sin, but in Christ the pure nature of things unfold. The crippled child is honoured, the fragile senior is upheld, the repentant murderer is released, the spouse is loved for who they are and the world rejoices and sings once more. In Christ we live - simply.

Palm Sunday in Zimbabwe

Lk19:39 "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."


There comes a time when you just have to do what is right. Regardless the circumstances or the consequences you must do it. If you don’t you will loose face or you will not account for much. It is the difference between whether you want people to like you or you want people to respect you. This final push into Jerusalem for Jesus was that kind of moment. A Spiritual revolution was afoot. The religious climate was draconian and stifling to the average worshiper. It was now time for something to be done. Somebody had to pay the price to make a difference. Negotiations were not going to work, it would take a person prepared to sacrifice himself for the sake of freedom. Just on the border of South Africa lies a country Zimbabwe that is on the verge of political revolution. The leader Mugabe, a geriatric tyrant has dragged his country into the worst of crises. Turning on his own people he has used racial rhetoric to justify his own hold on power and privilege. Palm Sunday is happening in Zimbabwe. The people once opposed are rising up for truth and are prepared to be brought down with the crack of a whip or tied up from trees and be beaten. The colt is walking its way to the capital Harare. The people shouting the praises of truth and real power. Our hope is that God will rise supreme in Zimbabwe and the praises of the people will not be manipulated to suite another power struggle and yet another self important political regime. May Easter come for Zimbabwe in 2007.